ART HISTORY, test one

TITLE:
st. Francis preaching to
the birds
COMMENTS:-Newness to it. A humble
scene. Showing that god is in everything.-Technique is fresco: painting on plaster. Quicker, but very very
durable.-One scene highlighting the life and miracles of francis.- Idea of god in everything, which was very new, an idea of francis. God
is even in the pigeons.

number 2

TITLE:
pulpit
COMMENTS:- Figure of the virtue fortitude is almost a replica of a relief of
Hercules--> Using antiquity style and
incorporating Christian themes- Sculpture was the first area to pick up the classical style because
there were more classical sculpture remnants. Not many paintings- Includes biblical scenes. If there is a scene that tells a story, it is
called a narrative--> The narratives turn away from icons. -Annunciation, nativity,
annuniation to the sheperds à these are the images of the pulpit you need to
know. -Mary and has a massive, heavy, and weightyàcalled gravitas. Indicates
dignity. This technique also comes from antiquity.o
The arrangement and poses are similar to antiquaited reliefso
Contrapposto: stance of the fortitude figure looks like he can
move/pivot.

number 3

TITLE:
Scrovegni (arena) chapel;
Christ entering jerusalem
COMMENTS: -tempera is paint with egg
that makes a more opaque surface
-Madonna faces the
congregationàshe is the intercessor of humans (?) she was a human too, basically. -o
The backside shows scenes from passion week. Because the clergy is
supposed to live a christ-like life.
-Muted colors. A lot of red
(color of passion weekàblood and jesus suffering) and gold. Meant that the work was also very
expensive-Idea of icon as being a still image is being
replaced by narratives.More humanistic/human take.

number 4

TITLE:
Scrovegni (arena) chapel;
the lamentation
COMMENT:- Event
does not take appear in gospels, by the end of the middle ages versions of this
theme had appeared in both byzantine and in western medieval art. -o Descending
slope of hill acts as a unifying element that directs attention toward the
heads of Christ and the virgin, which are focal points.

number 5

TITLE:
florence cathedral (duomo) complex
COMMENTS:-Has a high dome. Intended to be grand structure that would not only
serve as the spiritual center of the city, but as statement of its wealth and
importance.-o Original
design provided for large basilica with high arcade and broad proportions
(different from contemporary gothic structures in france), high pointed arches
resting on piers, flat moldings rising to the clerestory level above the
arcade, windows in the clerestory and ails are small leaving more wall surface
than in French cathedrals.

number 6

TITLE:
madonna enthroned
COMMENTS:-o Takes
shape of plyptych (multipaneled). Virgin and child in the maesta sit on a
complex throne draped in golden cloth. Virgin is largest and most impressive
figure in assembly.-o Also
reflects contemporary gothic sensibilities in the fluidity of the drapery,
appealing naturalness of figures, and glances by which the figures communicate
with each other.

number 7

TITLE:
palazzo pubblico
COMMENTS:-o A
town hall and epression of city’s wealth and status.-o Served
to house the city government and to frame a public space where city’s economic,
political, religious, and social life was played out.-

number 8

TITLE:
good government in the
country
COMMENTS:-o Provides
a view of the siencese farmland, finged by distant mountains and overseen by
personification of security. First true landscape since ancient rome.-Represents a sweeping view of the orderly hillside: vineyards, farms,
pastures result from a fruitful nature possessed y well-governed humans

number 9

TITLE:
July, Tres Riches Heures
COMMENTS:-§ Gold used. Blue comes from
lapis lagulie, which only comes from Afghanistanàvery expensive. -From a book of hoursàa series of prayers that you should say throughout the day. Very
expensive,usually only for the rich-§ Get a sense of depth. Can
tell that the castle is in the distance. The trees get smaller in the distance.
Sky gets hazyàatmospheric perspective. Shows a realization/observation
of the natural world. Hinting at perspective.

number 10

TITLE:
Merode Altarpiece (triptych)
COMMENTS:-Mary’s drapery. Reveals the
body. Seems stiff/folded. -§ Table has been tipped up to
let you see everything that is on the table. Artis wants you to see all the
details. (in Italian painting, there are less details, more on the storyànorthern more about the
details
-§ Details: lilies symbolize
purity, bible opens to the annunciation passage, there was a jewish prayer
shoal (Christianity from jew), extinguished candle (looks naturalistic, but
smoke doesn’t seem so)-§ Brought mary’s knees
together, and the light that shines on her (which doesn’t match the light from
the window) are manipulated to create a star image (the nickname of mary).

number 11

TITLE:
the “Arnolfini” portrait
COMMENTS:-§ Oil allow there to be more
detail, texture, shading. Continuity and smoothness to the texture.-§ Canons of beauty change. The
lady has a high forehead. Very pale. Round stomach means that you are wealthy
(you can eat) and that you are fertile.-

number 12

TITLE:
garden of Early delights
COMMENTS:-Was more of a conversation
piece that went into a rich person’s house-§ Garden of eden
·
Bosch Uses paint very thinly and translucently. Jewel like quality of
colors.
·
Adam and eve, god, animals.
·
Foreshadows the trouble to come: cat killing a rat.
·
There are a lot of toads (symbols of filth) and they are being killed.
·
Rabbits are a symbol of fertility.
·
Very strange shoreline with strange animals.
·
Snake entwined around a tree.
§ Garden of earthly delights
·
Alchemy?
o
See chemical things
o
There are ourobolos
o
Red fruit
o
Philosophers stoneàeternal life, but it could mean salvation.
o
Alchemical lapis elixer of life.
·
Mankind after the fall?
·
World if adam and eve had never sinned?
·
Underlying theme of sinning and redemption
·
If its meant to be a conversation piece, it is not meant to be simple.
·
Birds as alchemical vapors? Or of mankinds sin?
§ The right side is hell
·
Nightmarish things are going on.
·
Nasty water with beasts.
·
Creative ways to torment people.
·
Pig dressed up as a nunàhe didn’t like clerics who misbehaved
·
Lots of musical instruments, wine, womenàthe paths to sin.
·
Northern European painting tends to be very earthy and detailed.
·
Lady with a toad on her chest.
·
Many gross details, like bird eating and shitting people.
§ Closed altarpiece
·
Picture of the flood.
·
Shows the world washed.
·
It is grey, called grisade.
·
Idea of cleansing and starting over again.

number 13

TITLE:
well of moses
COMMENTS:-Moses has a pair of horns, which describe moses, holding the 10
commandments, after his encounter with god on Sinai-§
This attachment ot the specific distinguishes
sluter’s naturalistic style from that of the earlier period and is one of the
hallmarks of the international gothic.

number 14

TITLE:
ghent altarpiece
COMMENTS:-§
Commissioned by Jodicus Vijd and his wife
Elizabeth Borluut. Their portraits appear on the lower tier with 2 other
figures, each in a separate niche framed by painted gothic tracery.-§
At the outer edges of the upper tier stand adam
and eve, rendered as nudes in shallow niches, beow grisaille images of cain and
abel. The life sized nudes are portrayed with creful attention to their anatomy
and caressed by a delicate play of light and shade.

number 15

TITLE:
descent from the cross
COMMENTS:-Goal was to increase the expressive content f his pictures-§
Staged scene in shallow nich, not against a
landscape. This focuses viewer’s
attention on the foreground and allows the artist to mold the figures into coherent group.

number 16

TITLE:
temptation of st. Anthony
COMMENTS:-§
Varying the type of mark he made on the plate,
schongauer displays a wide range of tonal values and a rhythmic quality of
line, and he approximates a wide range of textures—spiky, scaly, leathery,
furry—to enhance the expressive impact of the image.-§
Print represents the climax of st. anthony’s
resistance to the devil.

number 17

TITLE:
dome of Florence cathedral (duomo)COMMENTS:-§ Florence was wealthy, and
wanted to show the world that they were the top dog. Civic effort to do this.-§ The only dome that realy was
around was the pantheon in rome-§ Brunelleschi dome is very
tall. Kind of has a gothic tone with the height and decoration.-§ Section below the dome
(called the drum) is octagonal.- Double shelled dome lightens
load- Herringbone brickwork used
throughout, lessens cracking. Didn’t know how to make concrete. This style has
flexibility to it.
A lot of Islamic architecture had domes, probably gave him some ideas

number 18

TITLE:
st. george tabernacle
COMMENTS:-§ Made for the armorer’s
guild. Originally had a silver helmet and spear-§ Competition in florence. All
the artists were competing with one another within Florence.-§ Standing contrappostoàsuggests possibility of
motion. Adds to the sense of naturalism of the statue.-§ Below the niche is a
rectangular area. Called the predella. On this he makes a relief.-·
Schiacciato technique (very low relief, pictorial).

number 19

TITLE:
gates of paradise
COMMENTS:-Uses perspective-§ With the 3 onlookers, he is
quoting figures from antiquity. Wanting to show people that he knew about
antiquity.-§ Add another level of
dimunution of size by making the relief lower and lower as you get near the top
of the panel.

number 20

TITLE:
david
COMMENTS:-·
David has much more exaggerated contropposto. George has little
suggestion of movement. David is actually standing on something-§ David is naked. Influenced
by classical sculpture. Understanding antiquity and their celebration of the
human body/young male body-§ Harkens back to “Praxiteles
leaning satyr”, which was nude and also had a feminine quality.-§ Idea of david was important
in Florence. They thought of themselves as the david against all the bigger
cities-§ David becomes a certain
patron saint of the city.

number 21

TITLE:
foundling hospital
COMMENTS:-§
A hopital for abandoned children near a church-§
For him, the secret of good architecture lay in
choosing the right proportions—proportional ratios expressed in simple whole
numbers—for all the major measurements of a building.

number 22

TITLE:
adoration of the magi
COMMENTS:-§
The lavish triple arched gilt frame of the
altarpiece, with a predella and gable figures, encloses a single scene in
thecentral panel: the visit of the magi to Bethlehem to acknowledge jesus as
king.-§
Forms are softly modeled to suggest volume for
the figures and to couneract the strong flattening effect of the gold.

number 23

TITLE:
annunciation
COMMENTS:-§
Inscription at bbottom calls on the friats who
pass by to say an ave maria. The fresco enhanced their life of prayer and
contemplation, as was the goal of such imagery in religious communities.-§
Colors are pale, composition has been pared to
the minimum, and the light bathes all the froms in a soft glow.

number 24

TITLE:
medici palace
COMMENTS:-§
Recalls the fortresslike Florentine palaces of
old; it may have been this conversatism that appealed to cosimo-§
Effect is to provide a splendid setting for
medici affairs: familial, social, commercial, and governmental. Thus the large
courtyard is ceremonial and practical.

number

TITLE:
Brancacci chapel ; the tribute moneyCOMMENTS:-·
Moral of the story. There is gods law, but you still have to pay your
taxes.-·
Atmospheric perspectiv: Fading out of color
-Colors very vivid when right in front of you. Go from saturated colors
to like a hazy grey color

number 26

TITLE:
expulsion from paradise
COMMENTS:-·
foreshortened angel. Like seeing them directly head on. Foreshortening
works best if you know how to do scientific perspective. Viewers are looking
perpindularly at the picture.- giornata: one day’s worth of fresco painting.

number 27

TITLE:
the battle of san romano
COMMENTS:-§ perspective, not gid floor,
but creates a grid with dead bodies and lances-§ The space is not very
believable. Vanishing point is in the landscape, swhich rises up on the
painting.-§ Painters are messing with
perspective. Why would he do this? Like the unicorn things, which did not have
medieval space.

number 28

TITLE:
the birth of venus
COMMENTS:-§ Boticelli is using his
knowledge of antiquity in terms of a theme. He also uses the venus pudica as
inspiration.-§ Florence by this time is
very literate, and there is knowledge about the classics. So there was interest
in incorporating knowledge of antiquity

number 29

TITLE:
battista Sforza and Federico da montefeltro
COMMENTS:-§ Shows people in exact
profiles.-§ No hint of life in these
profile portraits

number 30

TITLE:
sant’ Andrea
COMMENTS:-§
Wanted to merge classical temple forms with
traditional basilican church-§
big pilasters and arches of large chapels
support a coffered barel vault of impressive sizeàalberti
has drawn upon his study of the massive vaulted halls in ancient roman baths
and basilicas, but he intprets these models freely to create a structure that
can truly be called a “Christian temple”

number 31

TITLE:
camera picta
COMMENTS:-§
Framing this window is a foreshortened
balustrade on which little putti (boys) climb and over which court ladies peer.-§
Uses many devices to create illusions in this
room, including drapery that appears to be fluttering in the outside breeze and
trompe l’oeil reliefs of roman emporers on the vaults.

number 32

TITLE:
st. francis in ecstasy
COMMENTS:-§
St. francis believed that god created nature for
the benefit of humanity. Bellini uses the tools of the renaissance artist to
recreate a vision of natural beauty.-§
In this deep space, derived using the rules of
perspective, he depicts detailed textures and forms to populate the landscape.
Some of the forms may
express Franciscan valuesàdonkey=st.

number 33

TITLE:
the delivery of the keys
COMMENTS:-§
Gravely symmetrical design conveys the special
importance of the subject in this particular setting: the authority of st.
peter as the first pope, as well as of all those who followed him, rests on his
having received thekeys to the kingdom of heaven from Christ-§
Symmetry and clear space of the image express
the character of the rule of sixtus IV, not only in spiritual but also in
temporal terms.

number 34

TITLE:
david
COMMENTS:-§ Bronze tends to be very
light, and thus the stance is more open. Opposite with stone, which is more
constricted and usually has supporting parts.-§ Hair is more like an
architectural cornice for him. Also give chiaroscuro.-§ Very detailedàfurrowed brow.

number 35

TITLE:
ceiling fresco
COMMENTS:-

number 36

TITLE:
fete champetre
COMMENTS:

number 37

TITLE:
the last supper
COMMENTS:-§
Creates a spatial setting that seems like an
annex to the real interior of the room, though deeper and more atmospheric than
the earlier frescoes-Central vanishing point of the perspective system is located behind the
head of jesus in the exact middle of the fresco; it thus becomes charged with
symbolic significance

number 38

TITLE:
tempietto
COMMENTS:-§
This conception was as bold and novel as the
design of the chapel itself, for not only does the chapel’s colonnade dictate
the courtyard’s colonnade, the walls of the courtyard open into concave niches
that echo the façade of the chapel.-§
Façade, with 3 step platform and use of plain
tuscan Doric order, recalls roman temple architecture more directly than does
any 15th century building.

number 39

TITLE:
school of Athens
COMMENTS:-§
Depicts Aristotle and platoàfigures represent the 2
most important greek philosophers, whose approaches, seemingly opposite, deemed
complimentary by many renaissance humanistsàin
this composition, 2 schools of philosophy come together-§
Inclusion of so may artists among, and in the
guise of, famous philosophers is
testimony to their recently acquired status as member of the learned community.

number 40

TITLE:
the tempest
COMMENTS:-§
Scholars have offered many possible explanations
of this image, which depicts a stormy landscape inhabited by a male figure on
the left and a nursing mother on the right-§
Scholars have argued that the tempest initiates
what was to become an important new tradition in art, the making of pictorial
equivalents to poetry: atmospheric images that set a mood rather than convey a
story.

number 41

TITLE:
entombment
COMMENTS:-o Architecture
of chapel is brunelleschian in its simplicity, consisting of a dome over a
square.-o Figures
display an ideal beauty and sculptural solidity inspired by Michelangelo, yet
Michelangelo, yet pontormo has squeezed them into an implausibly confined
space.

number 42

TITLE:
the rape of the sabine woman
COMMENTS:-o Sculpture
sanitizes what is an act of raw power and violence as the figures spiral upward
in carefully rehearsed movements-Bologna wished to display his virtuosity and saw his task only in formal
terms: to carve in marble, on a massive scale, a sculptural composition that
was to be seen from all sides

number 43

TITLE:
last judgement
COMMENTS:-o That
the fresco expresses michelangelo’s personal vision of the endo of days is
suggested by one detail: straddling a cloud just below the lord is the apostle
Bartholomew, holding a human skin to represent his martyrdom by flaying. The
face on that skin is michelangelo’s.-o Replaces
physical torments with spiritual agony expressed through violent contortions of
the human body within a turbulen atmosphere.

number 44

TITLE:
design, campidoglio (Capitoline hill)
COMMENTS:-Shoes the symmetry of the scheme and the sense of progression along
the main axis toward the senator’s
palace-o The
new palace and its twing the conservators palace combine voids and solids
horizontals and verticals with a plasticity not found in any piece of
architecture since roman antiquity.

number 45

TITLE:
burial of count orgaz
COMMENTS:-Emphasizes roman catholic position that good works as required to
achieve salvation and that saints serve as intercessors with heaven-o Celestial
assembly in upper half of picture is painted very differently from the group in
the lower half: every for—clouds, limbs, draperies—takes part in the seeping,
flamelike movement towards the figure of Christ

number 46

TITLE:
the four apostles
COMMENTS:-o Durer
was an early and enthusiastic follower of martin luther, although, like
Grunewald, he continued to work for catholic patrons.-o Quotations
from their writings warn the city not to mistake human error and pretense for
the will of god.

TITLE:
peasant wedding
COMMENTS:-o Artist
often disguised himself as peasant and joined in their revelries so bruegel
could observe and sketch them-o Treats
the least of the least, like child licking a bowl in foreground, as worthy of
observation and remembrance.

number 49

TITLE: mona lisaCOMMENTS:-§
The oil technique builds the forms from layers
of glazes so thin that the panel appears to glow with a gentle light from
within, despite the dirty varnish that now obscures the painting.-§
Beautifully observed details of mona lisa’s high
brow and crossed hands give her as much character has her smile.